2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs thread

[Sneax]

to be fair, there were some posters on here who floated the idea of trading Schneider and rolling with Kinkaid this year after Keith had a decent start. Every fan base has it's idiots... Just the rangers have a higher proportion.

Difference being we need to go into full rebuild mode.

[RunninWithTheDevil]

Why do you guys give 7 so much sh!t? I think he says a lot of things we all think. It's just his shtick

 

wrong.  Triumph is our 'tell it like it is'-er.  '7' is essentially Beetlebum and LD combined.  This is the same man who promised a loss after the first period Game 7 in the 2003 finals.

['7']

It is my shtick. I'll come out and say it

 

now here's some non shtick. I actually do think Tampa has probably a 70% chance to win this thing now. Rags probably have one more full team surge/2nd wind left. But if they fall to 3-1 AGAIN vs Tampa...that's it they're not coming back from it. And if by some incredible unprecedented miracle they do, then they'd be gassed for the finals as they were last year.

 

Again, if the Rags make the finals it will likely be with 19 playoff games played already, with guys that went through the 2012 and 2014 slog. This is why some Rangers players have just fallen off a cliff this series performance wise. They're gassed and can't keep up with Tampa's speed. And good luck trying to get 2 goals out of Jasper That's a Paddlin Fast.

 

See last night was one of the first instances of insane Ranger luck striking again...and THEY LOST. Also Tampa might be in their heads. And Boyle/Yandle have been laughably disgraceful in their own end.

[Derek21]

The fans calling in or posting about benching Lundqvist are fools. They should go jump off a cliff. Those aren't real fans. Hank was bad last night. At least three of the goals could've been prevented including the first where he just sticked it right to Stamkos. He also should've had Killorn's second where he abused Staal. The winner was a disaster. He said he didn't pick it up for some reason. I don't know. It was a late change with McDonagh leaving too much gap.

 

Overall, the D has been awful. They're exposed against the much quicker Bolts transition. During the season series, they got torched by Johnson, Palat and Kucherov. So, it's no surprise they've dominated the series. The Rangers cannot match their speed and must slow things down. That requires better puck management. Stop throwing pucks away in the middle of the ice. It also means chipping pucks behind the Tampa D and working them behind the net. Similar to last round. They can be forechecked. Stepan's line has been the most effective. The fourth line has done a good job too. They're not getting anything out of Brassard or Nash and St. Louis continues to be a disaster. Brassard's taken some costly penalties and Nash has been MIA. St. Louis' line had some sustained forecheck including the OT chance for Moore. But the production isn't there. Hagelin has no goals since his Game 5 winner in Round 1. I'd change it up. Move Hayes back to center Hagelin and St. Louis. Or keep Moore at center and demote St. Louis to the fourth line with Sheppard and Glass.

 

Also, you can't do what Kreider did on that fifth goal in a tie game. Going for the big hit as retribution with basically six minutes left. Brutal. Sometimes, he doesn't think the game. He can be great but needs to be smarter. That hit took out Girardi and resulted in Palat finishing. That's really where they lost the game. Kreider also didn't take Johnson on his gimme on that 4-on-4. Vigneault made one good move sticking Miller with Brassard and Nash. No coincidence he was in front on Boyle's tying goal getting a piece of it to force a Bishop rebound. Miller is the one guy who plays with edge. He can be utilized on any line to provide energy and can take draws.

 

No complaints about Boyle or Yandle. Boyle scored atoning for his mistake which still shouldn't have resulted in a goal. Yandle was their most effective defenseman assisting on two goals in less than 17 minutes of ice-time. If he's not ailing, he should play more. He should be on the first power play unit. Demote St. Louis to the second power play unit and put Nash on the top one. He needs a confidence boost. Maybe he scores finally if they try him there. For the most part, hard to complain about the power play but they had two big fails when they were nursing a 2-1 lead. Score on either and it's probably a different outcome.

 

Game 4 is a must win. This isn't the Pens or Caps. They can't win three straight against the Bolts. They're just too explosive. I would stand up at the blueline and force more dumps. Clog the neutral zone. Yep. I said it. If that means trapping, so be it. You can't allow them to come with that much speed. Their transition is too good. This is the one opponent I didn't want to see. Even with Bishop. They're a match-up nightmare because their speed gives our D trouble. Especially Staal, who has had two poor games in a row. McDonagh hasn't been good either despite his PPG and helper. He can be better as can Danny G.

 

I would expect Lundqvist to bounce back tomorrow. I don't know about the rest of the team. That could depend on Vigneault. Can he make the necessary adjustments to get the series back to MSG even? We'll see.

[redruM]

I agree with those fans, BENCH THE KING!!

[DJ Eco]

I'm still convinced every Rangers defenseman is significantly injured, outside of Staal.

[Triumph]

No, Girardi is just that bad.  If Tampa keeps making their shots, the Rangers are finished, because they are not going to stop Kucherov-Johnson-Palat - that line gets a scoring chance almost every time they're on the ice.

[DJ Eco]

No, Girardi is just that bad.  If Tampa keeps making their shots, the Rangers are finished, because they are not going to stop Kucherov-Johnson-Palat - that line gets a scoring chance almost every time they're on the ice.

 

And if they get a handle on that line, it's probably at the expensive of Stamkos/Killorn line, and vice versa. They don't seem to have enough to handle the depth Tampa is throwing at them.

 

Looking at their 4 lines right now, their forward depth is actually kind of amazing and underrated. They're every bit as dangerous as Anaheim or Chicago.

Edited May 21, 2015 by DJ Eco

[HellOnICE]

The only argument I can make for sitting Henry for Game is this....

 

He's mentally tired. He had to play every game in the first two rounds under the gun 2-1 2-1 2-1 2-1 2-1 - that's BRUTAL on a goalie to HAVE to stay that sharp. They haven't had 2 full days rest between games, barely had that between series...so I think that's the only case to give him an extra day off and a team a kick in the pants to play Talbot. 

 

Not saying I would, or you could, but it's the only argument I can think of.

[Lemieux16]

Thanks Ducks! 2 more to go!!!

[RunninWithTheDevil]

disappointed kyle is disappointed

[vadvlfan]

Ducks have very unsung D

Who did Pens trade Depres 4?  Fowler is really good. All junk yard dogs. Anderson rocks

[Marshall]

Ducks have very unsung D

Who did Pens trade Depres 4?  Fowler is really good. All junk yard dogs. Anderson rocks

 

Ben Lovejoy.

[DJ Eco]

The only argument I can make for sitting Henry for Game is this....

 

He's mentally tired. He had to play every game in the first two rounds under the gun 2-1 2-1 2-1 2-1 2-1 - that's BRUTAL on a goalie to HAVE to stay that sharp. They haven't had 2 full days rest between games, barely had that between series...so I think that's the only case to give him an extra day off and a team a kick in the pants to play Talbot. 

 

Not saying I would, or you could, but it's the only argument I can think of.

 

Nah there's no way they do that. It'd be akin to benching Marty for an ECF game in his prime, it would've never happened. GRANTED, he never let 12 goals in back to back games, but still, he's their Marty.

[MadDog2020]

Nah there's no way they do that. It'd be akin to benching Marty for an ECF game in his prime, it would've never happened. GRANTED, he never let 12 goals in back to back games, but still, he's their Marty.

The first question Vigneault was asked yesterday at his media availability was 'Is Lundqvist your game 4 starter?' His reply was: 'Is that a serious question?' And that's exactly what my reply would've been too.

[HellOnICE]

brooksie asked it too

[roomtemp]

The first question Vigneault was asked yesterday at his media availability was 'Is Lundqvist your game 4 starter?' His reply was: 'Is that a serious question?' And that's exactly what my reply would've been too.

 

"Is it true that if you don't use it you lose it?"

 

"Is that a serious question?"

[StormJosh]

I still don't understand how the ducks are this good.

 

They have an elite first line that is weighed down by Patrick 'luckiest man alive' Maroon, unchanged almost all season long. Their second line is fine and the bottom 6 are nothing special. For defense they have probably an above average top pair in lindholm and beauchamin and an average-ish 2nd and 3rd pairing.

 

Over the season, they were 10th in GF and 20th in GA. I keep waiting for the wheels to fall off all season and it never happened. I must be missing something.

[redruM]

Nah there's no way they do that. It'd be akin to benching Marty for an ECF game in his prime, it would've never happened. GRANTED, he never let 12 goals in back to back games, but still, he's their Marty.

he did allow 10 goals in back to back games once inthe playoffs, and 8 goals in backa to back games 3 or 4 times...

[themightyall]

I still don't understand how the ducks are this good.

 

They have an elite first line that is weighed down by Patrick 'luckiest man alive' Maroon, unchanged almost all season long. Their second line is fine and the bottom 6 are nothing special. For defense they have probably an above average top pair in lindholm and beauchamin and an average-ish 2nd and 3rd pairing.

 

Over the season, they were 10th in GF and 20th in GA. I keep waiting for the wheels to fall off all season and it never happened. I must be missing something.

 

I have no idea how a team could have 100+ points but have a goal differential of +10 for a whole season.  People say it's a testament to how they can win close but I just think they're here because they played Winnipeg and Calgary in the first two rounds for 9 games.  Their playoffs haven't been a grind and they're much more fresh than the Hawks because of it.  I'm still holding out for the Lightning to beat the Rangers because I do not want to rely on the Ducks to stop them from the cup.

[Zubie#8]

NBCSN using the Rangers radio play by play guy and tv color commentator for this game. Thats lovely.

[bobilly45]

This is basically a national msg game, sub ken for big nose.

[slasher72]

i'm physically unable to enjoy the playoffs until the Rangers are out of it. I always pride myself on being calm and rational but there is something about the rangers that just infuriates and enrages me.

Quite the contrary with me. I love watching them lose. After they're eliminated it gets a bit boring (as long as we're not playing obviously).

[Muevelos]

If Patrick Maroon is the luckiest man alive, then that line isn't weighed down. They have a good bottom six that plays hard every single shift, they have a great goaltending situation, Fowler is under rated, as is Depres( Pitt fked that up pretty bad ) and are a very young team in general. Yet their arena seems empty a lot, yet still loud lol.

I still don't understand how the ducks are this good.

They have an elite first line that is weighed down by Patrick 'luckiest man alive' Maroon, unchanged almost all season long. Their second line is fine and the bottom 6 are nothing special. For defense they have probably an above average top pair in lindholm and beauchamin and an average-ish 2nd and 3rd pairing.

Over the season, they were 10th in GF and 20th in GA. I keep waiting for the wheels to fall off all season and it never happened. I must be missing something.

[MadDog2020]

Homer Joe can barely contain his excitement.